Last season, Washington Capitals defense prospect Nate Schmidt had his year ended early after suffering a knee injury on a low-bridge hit by Norfolk Admirals defenseman Garnet Exelby.

Playing Montreal on Sunday, Schmidt narrowly missed a head injury after getting elbowed in the noggin by Jarred Tinordi, son of former Capital, Mark Tinordi.

Capitals fourth-line forward Chris Brown came to the defense of Schmidt and fought the Canadiens prospect. Tinordi would receive 5 minutes for elbowing, 5 minutes for fighting, and a game misconduct.

Schmidt lay on the ice for a few minutes before getting helped to the locker room by head athletic trainer, Greg Smith.

After the game, The Washington Post’s Alex Prewitt reported that Schmidt had passed the concussion protocol and was getting dressed with his teammates.

Trotz said Nate Schmidt passed NHL concussion protocol. Was getting dressed with everyone else in the locker room.

— Alex Prewitt (@alex_prewitt) September 29, 2014

That’s great, but what a brutal and a totally unnecessary hit by Tinordi. Hopefully, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety reviews it.

Video via The Score.